Thinking Vs. Awareness

[dice]

Sometimes in college during lectures I concentrate on awareness and focus on phenomena like sight, sound, feelings etc. because I want to integrate mindfulness into every day life. But what I realize when I'm focusing on awareness is that I can't follow the content of the lecture because during mindfulness I hear voice as a sound. I realize this also during conversations when someone is talking to me and I focus on the voice. It sounds more beautiful but I miss the content of the conversation, so I have to switch to thinking or focusing on the context rather than the sound. Is it normal that I can't do both or is it possible to do both? Because on one hand I want to be mindful but on the other hand you have to understand the context.

Edited November 1, 2016 by dice

[ajasatya]

being mindful is also about doing one thing at a time.

if you want to hear voice as a sequence of words, do it. and if you want to hear voice as sound, then do it.

select the contexts in which you want to practice indifference.

[Prabhaker]

2 hours ago, dice said:

Is it normal that I can't do both or is it possible to do both?

Right now, you can't do both , you have to concentrate on your lectures. The ability to concentrate is useful, of course, useful — for others. Useful in scientific inquiry, useful in business, useful in the market, useful in politics.  Concentration is a tense state of mind; you will never be relaxed.

If you meditate. first concentration will disappear and you will be feeling a little at a loss. But if you go on, by and by you will attain to an unfocused state — that’s what meditation is. Once meditation is attained. concentration is child’s play — whenever you need to, you can concentrate. There will be no problem about it and it will be easy and without any tension. 

[Alex4]

Hi, I hope someone can respond me. when I practice mindfulness meditation I use to focus on my breath trying to count 20 breaths in a row. do you think this is a good method?, sometimes I put too much focus on my breath 

Edited November 2, 2016 by Alex4

[Prabhaker]

@Alex4

When you are counting your breaths, you are using your mind. By counting you are concentrating , not meditating.

This is something to be understood. Either you can think or you can watch your breathing. You can't do both together. Breathing and thinking are such processes that only one can exist in you -- in awareness. In unawareness, both can continue: you can go on breathing and you can go on thinking.

But if you become aware, either you can think or you can breathe; and when you breathe with awareness, thinking disappears. Your whole consciousness becomes focused on breathing. And breathing is such a simple process: you need not do it, it is already happening. You can just bring your consciousness to it.

If thinking appears, watching disappears. When you have become alert enough to watch your thoughts and let them disappear through watching, then move to feeling -- which is even more subtle.

[Alex4]

1 hour ago, Prabhaker said:

@Alex4

When you are counting your breaths, you are using your mind. By counting you are concentrating , not meditating.

This is something to be understood. Either you can think or you can watch your breathing. You can't do both together. Breathing and thinking are such processes that only one can exist in you -- in awareness. In unawareness, both can continue: you can go on breathing and you can go on thinking.

But if you become aware, either you can think or you can breathe; and when you breathe with awareness, thinking disappears. Your whole consciousness becomes focused on breathing. And breathing is such a simple process: you need not do it, it is already happening. You can just bring your consciousness to it.

If thinking appears, watching disappears. When you have become alert enough to watch your thoughts and let them disappear through watching, then move to feeling -- which is even more subtle.

hey, thank you for your answer. So how do you think I should practice the mindfulness meditation? noticing my thoughts and feelings ? 

 

[Prabhaker]

4 hours ago, Alex4 said:

hey, thank you for your answer. So how do you think I should practice the mindfulness meditation? noticing my thoughts and feelings ? 

Yes, watch , don't judge, don't resist. 

Don’t do anything unconsciously.

[Khin]

@dice You only hear voice as voice when you are in present moment. That's very good. But if you want to memorize, pay attention to the whole word and then don't think back. Move on as professor speaking. From my experience as a server, I sometimes took orders from multiple tables without book. I realized sometimes what we do is trying to remember (Think again and again) what we heard in our head so we missed the present moment or can't pay 100% attention. So the info didn't enter into our consciousness completely. That's why when try to focus on something, pay 100% attention and don't think back. Move on with present moment. Try to experience everything strong and clear so when think back, everything will be vivid.